Balélec
The Balélec Festival is the first open-air - music festival of the year in Switzerland . The organizing committee consists of 45 volunteers, the majority of whom are students. The festival takes place every year in May on the premises of the ETH Lausanne .
history
Originally, Balélec was the Bal of the electricity faculty of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne . Today, Balélec is the largest student- organized festival in Europe, with 18,000 visitors, and the largest one-day open-air festival in Switzerland.
1981-1988
The non-profit association Balélec was founded in 1981 by professors, and soon the first “dance evening” took place, which numbered 500 people. The concept was rudimentary; an extracurricular event had to be organized at the university. Concerts were given even then.
1989-1994
After the school moved to its current location in Ecublens in 89, the festival only really developed. An expansion of the stages, improvements in ticket sales and transport options led to a high level of acceptance by the school commission. With the concert by Radiohead in 1994, a first record attendance was achieved with 10,000 spectators.
1995-1998
The festival was able to record increasing numbers of visitors, which prompted the committee to continuously enlarge the area up to 20,000 m² (1998). At the same time, the permitted capacity increased from 10,000 to 15,000 visitors. The period was marked by concerts by No One Is Innocent , K's Choice , Nada Surf , Urban Species , Dolly and New Model Army .
1999-2002
For the 20th anniversary (2000) the festival was exceptionally extended to two evenings. The area has grown again (to 25,000 m²) and the large stage has become an open-air stage. The festival continued to see growing visitor flows. From 2001 onwards, two large screens have been decorating the main stage so that visitors can see bands such as Archive , Sinsemilia , Mass Hysteria , Starsailor , Eskobar , Skirt , James Taylor Quartet , Silmarils or Ash from a greater distance.
2003-2004
2003 was an absolutely successful year and the festival was sold out before midnight (15,000 admissions) and visitors had to be turned away. After all, Balélec now offers over 30 concerts on 7 different stages. The following bands were involved: Mass Hysteria, Daisybox , Pleymo , Bauchklang , Enhancer , HIM .
2005
For the 25th anniversary, the program featured Youssou N'Dour , Marcel et son orchester , Les Caméléons , Burning Heads , Akamassa and many more. Fireworks were also offered.
2006
Thanks to the support of the school and numerous sponsors, the festival was able to offer affordable admission prices in 2006 as well. Bands like Asian Dub Foundation , Liquido , Vegastar , Watcha , The Bliss or Mother Kingdom offered a balanced music program.
2007
This year Balélec took place on May 25, 2007.
Program:
Grande Scène
- Reamonn
- Steriogram
- The Automatic
- Jonas & le Taxi-Brousse Orchestra
Scène Azimuts
Scène du Monde
Idea and principle of the festival
Balélec wants to offer its visitors a musically varied festival at affordable entry prices. Dining options, countless bars, sanitary facilities, professional security guards, a sustainable waste concept and an extended transport offer are part of the festival's offer. The fact that the 45 members of the organizing committee all work on a voluntary basis helps to create a non-commercial environment.
